BlackFive

About Gov. Romney's speech last night, William Kristol at the Weekly Standard asks:

What about the civic propriety of a presidential nominee failing even to mention, in his acceptance speech, a war we're fighting and our young men and women who are fighting it? Has it ever happened that we've been at war and a presidential nominee has ignored, in this kind of major and formal speech, the war and our warriors?

While the economy certainly is the number one issue, I agree that the war in Afghanistan needs attention and the Governor missed an opportunity last night.

However, Gov. Romney did address defense and veteran issues at the American Legion's National Convention earlier this week.  Here is the video of that speech.

Focus on jobs, tri-care, and the VA were good points.

Gateway Pundit has the letters and the scoop. Go check it out - apparently, Al Sharpton read Obama's original letter at the funeral for Heavy D. 

Over at IBD, an editorial that focuses on the issue:

...'I don't take these folks too seriously," President Obama recently told the Virginian-Pilot, referring to a group of former SEALs who formed the Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund Inc., to run ads attacking the leaking of details of the Osama bin Laden raid and other national secrets to further his reelection chances.

Apparently the president doesn't take the sacrifice of Navy SEALs who've fallen in battle and the grief of their surviving families too seriously, judging from the form letter sent out to the families of 17 who were among 30 U.S. service members killed when a CH-47 Chinook helicopter transporting them crashed in Wardak province, Afghanistan, on Aug. 6, 2011...

 

The following review by Elise Cooper is a special for BlackFive readers.  You can read all of our book reviews by clicking here or on the Books category.

The best-selling book, The Corruption Chronicles: Obama’s Big Secrecy, Big Corruption, and Big Government, written by Tom Fitton, President of Judicial Watch (JW), is about how no one is above the law.  He outlines how this grassroots group has been the watchdog for the American people.  The first half of the book discusses the Clinton and Bush administrations, but the meat of the book is the latter half when Fitton highlights issues such as the bailouts, Obamacare, Guantanamo, the voting ID laws, and the government czars.  With these issues he shows how government should and must be held accountable.

He described to BlackFive that Judicial Watch is the people’s independent inspector general, not associated with Congress or any Presidential administration.  Fitton’s reason for writing the book is, “to present all the information gathered together to educate the public.  There is a real need to show the people how we combat government corruption.  You can’t rely on the traditional institutions of government to police wrong doing in Washington.”

One of the most interesting parts of the book is his list and explanation of the ten most corrupt politicians.  Among those listed are Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Eric Holder, and Nancy Pelosi.  However, the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, was not listed.  When asked about this he noted, “The list is not perfect.  There are people that could easily have been put on it.  We have been researching Reid for quite some time.  He is someone who deserves a lot of scrutiny.  His not being included on the list does not serve as an exoneration.”

Readers will soon discover that JW is able to use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to force the government to become transparent and allow the public to see how administration officials conduct government business.  He exposes this current administration as one of the most secretive in a generation by taking them to court to force them to reveal to the American public the inside facts.  JW has filed over 800 requests for information and over 75 lawsuits seeking enforcement of FOIA. It is thought-provoking to read how the Obama Administration through FOIA was forced to reveal visitor logs, giving the readers an inside view of who attended the White House meetings during the writing of Obamacare.  As Fitton explains, “Only certain records were released.  Others were withheld for arbitrary and unlawful reasons.  In fact, the White House continues to advance the ridiculous claim that the visitor logs are not agency records and are therefore not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.”

The book emphasizes how “The Obama Administration became a morass of corruption and obfuscation…he was about to change Washington DC into his personal reconstruction of Chicago complete with dictatorially appointed czars and corrupt bureaucrats with a history of secret manipulation.”  This is very evident with the way the Obama Administration is trying to stop voter ID laws that would make voting rolls clean and accurate.  Fitton directly commented, “The real concern about this administration is that it looks like they are trying to put themselves in a position to steal this election by opposing voter ID laws.  This is an issue the American people support, voter and election integrity.  We filed lawsuits in about a dozen states hoping these warning letters will force some of the states to clean up their voter roles.”

Fitton was asked about a powerful quote in the book, “Right now, America stands on the brink of a complete government takeover in virtually every major aspect of the economy…” He commented, “They nationalized the financial sector, the big banks and the financial services markets, into public utilities.  The mortgage sector has been nationalized as well, practically through the activities of Fannie and Freddie.  There was the push for Obamacare.   We are on our way with these startling developments.  These takeovers are socialist in nature.”

The Corruption Chronicles is a must read for anyone who is concerned about the future of America.  The reader will gain awareness into issues not reported by the mainstream media.  Fitton is hoping that through this book individuals will be alerted about this private watchdog group in which “the government will be held in check and be accountable to the American people.  If you consider the media the fourth branch we are hoping to be the fifth branch. We cause heartache for the bad guys and help to reassure the good guys.”  He does that and more with this insightful, concise, and educational book.

 

Well there is a shocker. DoD sent him a letter informing him that he had screwed the pooch.

The letter, addressed to "Mark Owen," the pseudonym under which the book was written, identified two separate non-disclosure agreements he signed with the Navy that legally committed him to never divulge classified information, which is a crime.

"You are in material breach and violation of the non-disclosure agreements you signed," said the letter by Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon's General Counsel.

"The Department of Defense is considering pursuing against you, and all those acting in concert with you, all remedies legally available to us in light of this situation."

Given that the entire raid was pretty heavily classified it was going to be tough tp write a book that didn't reveal at least something that violated those agreements. The only thing he has going in his favor is the almost interminable jaw-flapping Obama has had his surrogates doing about the op. He has used it to distract everyone from his excremental job of ensuring our economy is wrecked and our debt grows too high to even count. The SEAL can argue this if he decides to fight this in court somewhere and gets to talk to a jury. But the problem is that Obama can declassify anything he wants, and apparently has to make himself look good and to get that move out in time for the election. But if this dude said one thing that is not officially declassified he is done.

Two wrongs do not make a right.

From the Ranger Regiments FB Page:

Then Staff Sgt. Joseph Kapacziewski, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, adjusts his prosthetic leg after a successful combat operation in Afghanistan in 2009.

Four years earlier, Kapacziewski was wounded by an enemy grenade Oct. 3, 2005 in Iraq during his fifth combat deployment with 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. In March 2006, doctors amputated his leg below the knee. Three years later, after additional surgeries, completing hundreds of hours of physical therapy, and completing the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program 2, Kapacziewski returned to 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and deployed as a Ranger Squad Leader in 2009 to Afghanistan. After returning, he was promoted to Sgt. 1st Class and became a Ranger Platoon Sergeant.

Earlier this year, Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Kapacziewski completed his third combat rotation to Afghanistan as a Ranger Platoon Sergeant in 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.

The awesome Duffleblog has the scoop:

Fort Bragg, NC – The White House Press Office announced today that President Obama will soon be inducted into the Special Forces Association and receive an honorary Green Beret.

Officials have said the honor will be bestowed in an upcoming September 11th ceremony at Fort Bragg.
<...>
“The President has in fact already received his Trident from the SEAL community,” said Carney. “He was honored to accept the insignia during a private ceremony in California, a week after his gutsy call where he singlehandedly took out bin Laden.”

When Carney was asked who had initiated the calls for President Obama to be given the illustrious honors, he hesitated before replying, “we’ll dig into it.”...

Read the whole awesome post at: http://www.duffelblog.com/2012/08/obama-to-receive-honorary-green-beret-induction-into-special-forces-association/#ixzz253HLfxO4

I just got off of the phone on a conference call with Jimbo.  He's mailing his beret back to the schoolhouse cut up into little tiny pieces...

Disclaimer:  Keep in mind that the Duffleblog is the Onion of the military.  This is SATIRE, people, very good satire...

Earlier this week, I talked about MilitaryLuggage.Com and the fact that they had sent me gear to test and use.  I wasn't joking about being like a kid at Christmas, as I might have a slight tendency to be a Geardo.  The one thing I will admit that age has brought me on that is a far better appreciation of gear to haul the gear.  So, I am going to be reviewing the gear they sent, starting with an introductory post on each piece, so you can see it in pristine condition. 

On my embeds to Iraq, I used a certain name brand tactical briefcase to haul my computer, camera, and related gear.  It was rugged, though much to the surprise of the manufacturer and myself a bell clerk in Kuwait took out the handle of my first one.  The largest advantage to it, though, was the waterproof/dustproof compartment for the computer.  As for the rest, it worked though I wasn't happy with a number of elements to the design. 

The first thing I went for in my box of delights from MilitaryLuggage.Com was the tactical briefcase they sent.  It is from Code Alpha, a brand with an excellent reputation. 

A U.S. Air Force pilot performs a preflight check on an F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft on Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, Aug. 23, 2012, before leaving for Nordic Air Meet 2012 in Finland. The pilot is assigned to the 480th Fighter Squadron, which left for the multinational training exercise to share and exchange new combat tactics with allied countries. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dillon Davis.

"Hell, these are Marines. Men like them held Guadalcanal and took Iwo Jima. Baghdad ain't shit." - Major General (at the time) John F. Kelly to a reporter who asked him if he ever contemplated defeat.

RE:  John Kelly on The Two that Stood Their Ground (December 13, 2010)
RE:  Father and Son (November 15, 2010)
RE:  Witness to History (February 3, 2009)
RE:  Marine General Speaks Out (September 19, 2007)

Drew from Ace of Spades is attending the American Legion's annual conference in Indy today and he posted video of USMC LtGen John Kelly's speech to the Legionnaires.  We've long been supporters of Marine John Kelly on this blog. You can Google Blackfive and John Kelly to see what I mean. I'd walk through the gates of hell carrying a five gallon can of JP8 if he asked me to. Here is what Drew had to say about the speech:

The best speech given yesterday wasn’t by Ann Romney, Chris Christie or even Arthur Davis. With all due respect to them (I mean that sincerely, not snarkily), the best speech given yesterday wasn’t even delivered in Tampa. It was delivered to the American Legion here in Indianapolis by Lt. General John Kelly (USMC).

“The Real 1%” wasn’t the title of Genera Kelly’s address but it could have been. In a speech that was alternatively motivating and moving (it wasn’t allergies, I was tearing up), the General covered a wide variety of topics...

Go over Ace's place and watch the speech. It's worth your time.

I haven't read it yet, but the first bits from the book written by a SEAL who was on the bin Laden raid are out. Guess what, my opinion remains that he still shouldn't have written the book. When the book was first announced, I ripped the guy a new one for writing it, and I caught a fair amount of flak for that. Most of the arguments failed to address the reason I am against its publication. It is wrong to talk about it, period.

That is why I have consistently ripped the Obama team a new one for all of their politically-motivated leaks of info about the raid and far too many other national security operations. It is wrong to talk about it, period. That is why I support the OPSEC group that is telling the Obama team to stop jeopardizing our national security. It is wrong to talk about it, period. That is why I agree with former Sec Def Gates when he told the leakers to STFU! It is wrong to talk about it, period. Have I made myself clear?

I don't care if the SEAL wanted to correct misconceptions, that is not his job. I don't care if he wanted to point out that Obama used this for political purposes. That didn't require a book, it was common knowledge. I don't care if he was leaving the teams and needed to support his family. That doesn't justify breaking your word and exposing your comrades to danger. I have a hard time even caring that al Qaeda put a price on his head, he pretty much asked for that. And writing that bin Laden got ventilated while aready shot through the head and lying on his back is not really helpful either, buddy.

The fact that both Obama and Biden take well-deserved shots in this book doesn't justify writing it. The Commander in Chief needs to be able to trust that missions he authorizes are carried out and kept quiet by those tasked to conduct them. The fact that this CinC has flagrantly violated his side of that agreement doesn't mean the operators are free to violate theirs. Do we want some left wing SEAL during a Republican administration leaking info about operations against Iran? It is wrong to talk about it, period. Under Obama, Romney or whoever else is sitting in the boss man's chair.